EKATERINA DEGOT
Writer Journalist, Art Critic, Curator / Moscow, Russia
To map contemporary art biennials, I will begin with a story – how I was
recently censored as an art critic and curator, and interestingly enough, not by the
Putin regime but by the international art world. I was involved in a project of an
exhibition in form of a book where several art works were presented, and the whole
topic was “Can art be still critical, provocative or shocking?” In my text I wrote that it
was rather difficult, if not impossible, any shocking image is immediately absorbed
by mass media. But still there was one work which I found breaking, indeed, a taboo.
A work where the artist did not criticize any political regime or even religion - he
was criticizing his curator, the chief of a big biennial. This big curator ordered, so it
seems, wrong frames for his drawings, they got damaged, and the artist created an
image where a small figure is sitting in the corner and crying. I was amused
because I had been at the same biennial and knew the story, so I wrote about power
issues between artists and curators. The book was supposed to be launched at one
art events but two weeks before that, publishers decided to ask the curator for
permission, I don’t know why. They probably thought he would say “OK. Of course.”
This artist is one of those who are at every biennial, nobody would ever guess. But
the curator answered something like “No way. If you do this I’ll sue you, I will kill
you and all your family, three generations.” Two weeks before the launch of a book
the only thing they were able to do was that they published the photograph of the
SESSION 2 / 2. OTURUM / EKATERINA DEGOT 61
EKATERINA DEGOT
Gazeteci Yazar, Sanat Elefltirmeni, Küratör / Moskova, Rusya
Çacurrency1dafl sanat bienallerinin haritas›n› ç›karmak için bir hikayeyle bafllaya-
cacurrency1›m -yak›n zamanda bir sanat elefltirmeni ve küratör olarak nas›l sansürlendicurrency1im
ile ilgili. ‹flin ilginç yan›, Putin rejimi taraf›ndan decurrency1il de, uluslararas› sanat dünyas›
taraf›ndan. Birçok sanat yap›t›n›n sunulducurrency1u kitap formunda bir sergi projesine
kat›lm›flt›m. Konusu, “Sanat hala elefltirel, k›flk›rt›c› veya floke edici olabilir mi?” idi.
Metnimde her tür floke edici imge, an›nda kitle iletiflim araçlar› taraf›ndan emildicurrency1i
için, bunun olanaks›z decurrency1ilse de çok zor olducurrency1unu yazd›m. Yine de gerçekten tabu
y›kan özellikte bulducurrency1um bir ifl vard›. Bu ifl, sanatç›n›n herhangi bir siyasal rejimi
veya dini konular› elefltirdicurrency1i bir ifl decurrency1ildi - küratörünü, büyük bir bienalin
küratörünü elefltiriyordu. Bu büyük küratör, görünen o ki, resimlerine yanl›fl çerçeve
›smarlam›fl, onlar›n zarar görmesine neden olmufltu ve bu sanatç› köflesinde küçük
bir figürün oturducurrency1u ve acurrency1lad›currency1› bir resim yapt›. Bu beni ecurrency1lendirmiflti, çünkü ayn›
bienale ben de kat›lm›flt›m ve öyküyü biliyordum, dolay›s›yla sanatç›lar ve küratörler
aras›ndaki güç sorunu hakk›nda yazd›m. Kitab›n bir sanat etkinlicurrency1i s›ras›nda
tan›t›lmas› gerekiyordu, ama buna iki hafta kala, yay›nc›lar küratörü aray›p, izin
istemeye karar verdi, nedenini bilemiyorum. Olas›l›kla “Tabii.” diyececurrency1ini
düflündüler. Bu sanatç›, her bienalde bulabilececurrency1iniz bir sanatç›yd›, kimse onun kim
olducurrency1unu tahmin edemezdi. Ama küratörün cevab› “Kesinlikle olmaz. Bunu
yaparsan›z sizi dava ederim, sizi ve ailenizi mahvederim.” gibi bir fley oldu. Bir
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